Though many Wareham residents are busy enjoying the summer days and the beach, Selectmen are working to create a policy for the plowing of private ways.

Town Administrator Derek Sullivan asked Selectmen to set a policy in light of the February ballot question that was overwhelmingly passed by voters to plow private roads open to public use in town, something that was billed as a continuation of the town's current policy.

After consulting Town Attorney Richard Bowen, Sullivan said last month that a policy could be put in place where the responsibility would be in the hands of the private road owners to come forward and request municipal maintenance workers to inspect their roads for defects and make sure they meet the necessary dimensions and standards to have them plowed.

"I don't see any reason to stop maintaining the roads," said Selectman Patrick Tropeano. "People went to the ballot and decided they wanted their roads plowed."

Sullivan said having the residents petition the town protects the town from paying for the cost of possible damage to plows on unfit roads. Last year the town spent $20,000 on repairs to plows that were damaged plowing private ways.

In addition to that, Director of Municipal Maintenance David Menard said some private roads have "deteriorated badly" after the town recently changed it's policy to no longer grade those roads.

"We're trying to ensure the safeguards of the town equipment and employees, which was not done in the past," Selectman Judith Whiteside said. "Now we have to come up with a way that doesn't ruin every piece of equipment that [municipal maintenance] has."

Sullivan said he would have no problem upgrading the private roads and accepting them as public ways in order to collect Chapter 90 funding for them, but he asked Selectmen in order to do that, "Where is the money?"

"We're going to have to figure out a way to plow the darn roads," said Tropeano. "That's all there is to it."

Selectmen agreed to take up the issue at their Aug. 12 meeting after speaking with municipal maintenance workers and attempting to determine conclusively which roads in town are in fact private.